


The Purpley-Red Grass Of Home

by respoftw



Series: 30 prompt OTP challenge - McShep [4]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Dating, Established Relationship, Fluff, Homesickness, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 16:06:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9079792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/respoftw/pseuds/respoftw
Summary: John and Rodney are back on Earth and it's date night.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt #4: On a date

Rodney flipped through the leather bound menu and he should have been in heaven. Every cut of steak conceivable, carb-laden dishes of pasta with creamy sauce and, oh god, garlic bread. Chocolate cake, _real_ chocolate cake, tiramisu, apple pie, ice cream, custard....every food that he spent most of his waking hours on Atlantis craving and all he could think about was how well a plate of mashed tavel roots and fried napir meatballs would go down.

The waiter shifted impatiently, causing Rodney to look up. He opened his mouth to make some sort of sarcastic remark, anything to hide how frustrated he was to be sitting here with everything he thought he wanted in front of him and realise that he was wrong, but cut off when he felt John's hand reach across the table and settle on his own.

"On second thoughts," he heard John say, "can we just pay for our drinks? Sorry to waste the table but something's come up."

It said a lot about how fancy the restaurant was that they were accommodated with minimal fuss and not five minutes later Rodney was walking out into the cool, night air with John's hand a warm, guiding point of contact on his back.

The view of the sea was even more stunning from the pavement than it had been from their table but it left Rodney unmoved. He'd come to love the smell of the ocean, the sound of the water but not this smell, not this sound. Like the restaurant, like the menu, it was all wrong.

"Hey," John's shoulder knocked gently against his own, "there's a fish and chips stand up the pier a bit. Haddock tastes a little bit like those yellow fish from PX6-5Y9; what do you say?"

Rodney made an attempt at a smile and let John take his hand as they ambled slowly along.

The fish did taste a lot like the small yellow canary-fish - he really had to talk to the service staff about letting John name things - and Rodney felt something inside him settle.

"Wanna talk about it?" John asked as he finished his fish and settled back on the bench they'd chosen to stop at.

Rodney shook his head, gratified when John let it rest.

"Sky's pretty tonight." John tried to change the subject but it seemed like Rodney's mind wasn't letting go of this one.

Sighing, he balled up the newspaper wrapping that had covered his fish and dropped it on to the empty bit of bench next to him. "Not as pretty as the sky on MRT-67Y," he said softly.

He felt John shift closer. "Well, no, but MRT had three moons, and no light pollution. It's not really fair to compare the two."

"That's all I've been doing since we got back," Rodney sighed, "comparing the two. Pegasus vs Earth. And you know what, Earth falls short every time."

"That a bad thing?" John asked.

"Isn't it? This is our home."

"This is where we were born," John argued. "Different things."

"Semantics," Rodney said. He turned to face John, noticing the way the lamplight made the grey strands in his hair twinkle. "It doesn't bother you?" he asked.

John shrugged, his eyes drifting across the horizon. "I came to terms with it a long time ago."

"Well I didn't," Rodney snapped. "It's just..Jeannie's here, Star Trek is here, the Nobel committee is here. Why don't I care?"

John laughed softly. "You do care. But, Teyla's there, Torren's there, Ronon's there, the most exciting scientific discoveries are there, Lorne's drama group are there and you know how excited you've been about watching them act out season five of Enterprise."

Rodney scoffed. "Didn't I threaten to quit if that went ahead?"

"We all knew you were only bluffing," John grinned. "It's ok to think of it as home."

"I just spent so long looking forward to this break and - - the grass is always greener, huh?"

"Or purpler," John teased. "Remember PT7-4XJ?"

"Remind me why they let you fly planes? The grass there was red."

"That's what I said," John agreed. "Purpley-red. Now, come on. You planning to mope all night or can we enjoy the first date we've been on ever?"

"First date?!" Rodney spluttered. "What do you call the picnic on the tower balcony? Or the jumper flight to look at that supernova?"

John stood up and pulled Rodney off the bench. "First of all," he cocked an eyebrow, "I don't call two MREs and blue jello a picnic and second of all, you spent that entire jumper ride ignoring me and collecting data. Now, get over your little melodrama and win me the biggest cuddly toy at the fair."

Rodney huffed as he let himself be pulled along the pier towards the carnival and the dreaded Ferris wheel that had drew them here in the first place. "You realise all those games are rigged, don't you?"

"You're the smartest man in two galaxies," John called over his shoulder. "You'll find a way to win."

If Rodney were a more romantic man he'd hold John close and tell him that he already had won. Rodney wasn't a romantic though so instead he complained about his feet and the niggle in his shoulder from their last mission and how that might interfere with his ability to throw things.

Luckily, John was good at reading between the lines.


End file.
